Our Thanksgiving 2012

We celebrated Thanksgiving just like every year before, with a grand turkey, cranberry sauce, and the works.  This year we added a great center piece to our table in the form of a Thankful Tree.  We wrote down, throughout the day, everything we were grateful for and added it to the tree.  By the end of the day our tree looked amazing and we were so thankful.

Our Thankful Tree and our bowl of "thankful" notes.

Skylar adding another note of thanks to the Thankful Tree.

Our turkey was amazing and Jeff always does such a grand job it it every year.

Our table spread.

Cranberry sauce, stuffing, and my infamous rosemary mashed potatoes. 

   

The skyline the night of Thanksgiving.  "Pink sky at night, sailor's delight."  Such a wonderful way to end the evening of thanks.

Hope your Thanksgiving celebration was just as great as ours.  We have so much to be thankful for this year alone.

Eco-Tip:  Conserve water this fall and into winter by using a broom or push broom to clear away leaves and debris from your sidewalks and driveway.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

A nice brunch for a Sunday afternoon

Nothing is more inviting than a Sunday brunch on a rainy day here in Oregon.

Spark of Loves this Week: Wallet, Pictures, Trooper, Mocha, Candle, Tea, and Chex-Mix

This wallet.

Because it's not only colorful, but very me all the way around.

 These pictures.

Because they were part of a photography class I took about 6 years ago and I still adore them.  They currently hang in my office.

This action figure.

Because my son is obsessed over Star Wars and I think it's fantastic!

 These mocha's.

I am not a fast food frequenter, but the Peppermint Mocha from McDonald's right now has a hold on me that I can't seem to shake.

 This candle.

I just love the smell of it.

 These teas.

Because the Sugar Plum Spice only comes out this time of year, and there's always room in my tummy for Chamomile Tea, but this time of year the Celestial Seasonings brand offers a collectible tin in their tea.  Go get you one!  

Random Photo of the Week:

A free seasoning packet prompted me to prepare my own homemade Chex Party Mix.  It was very tasty!

Eco-Tip:  Compost scraps from your kitchen to create the most amazing soil for your garden and flowerbeds.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

A streamer of a surprise!

So a few weeks ago, after the presidential elections, I got pretty creative and surprised Jeff and Skylar with a little streamer scavenger hunt throughout the house.  I had them leave to get pizza for the night since it was storming pretty bad, and while they were gone I covered the entire house in streamers.  But I didn't stop there, I had them grab a streamer roll and follow their streamer to the end to gain a prize.  This was a great way to spend a rainy night indoors.

I ended up using 6 rolls of red streamers for my house.  

Skylar's little arms I should have taken into account when placing his streamers higher than his head, but he had a blast and loved that it was an adventure.  See our Board of Great Things!  

Skylar reached the garage first, where the prizes were, and Jeff soon followed.  Jeff's streamers took him up stairs for awhile, so we had to catch up.  HA!

They had a ton of streamers once they finished following them all through the house.  Jeff's looks like a roll of toilet paper.  HA!

I put a few straggler streamers around to throw them off the trail a little.  This is what the house looked like after they went through the living room.  

They loved their little scavenger hunt gifts.  Skylar got some doggy cookie cutters and scented markers and Jeff scored himself a small weather radio and some camping utensils.  

The items I surprised my family with can be found below.

I highly recommend this indoor rainy day activity, we had a BLAST, and I had even more fun setting it up!

Eco-Tip:  Consider installing a bat house on the side of your home or near a barn or standing water.  Bats will help cut down on the mosquito population naturally during the warmer months.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

A quick hike at dusk

We decided to take a quick hike out to McDowell Creek here in the Valley a few weeks ago, but by the time we got out the door, it was getting dark.  We went ahead and labelled it our, Dusk Hike!  And we had a great time!

It was pretty dark when we reached the waterfall, but the view was still pretty.

The hiking poles that Skylar is holding can be purchases below this post.  They are poles that help you keep your balance and support while hiking in rough terrain or wet surfaces.

What a great little dusk hike.  

Eco-Tip:  Always cover your pots and pans when cooking, it speeds up the cooking time on foods and also saves on energy used for cooking the dish.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Spark of Loves this Week: Safety, Human, Skyline, Skylar, Oven, Trombone, and Flowers

This Video.

Because this would be a flight safety lesson worth listening to for a change.

This Video.

 Because every time I watch it, I will admit, I almost cry......really.

This Skyline.

Because it was what we all saw on our way to take a hike at dusk.

This Picture of Skylar.

Because I think it captures his youth exactly.

This Solar Oven.

Because, gosh darn it, it's fun to cook with.  Instructions coming soon on the blog.

 This Vintage Trombone.

Because I can play it, and because it's OLD!

Random Photo of the Week:

  

I miss the little summer flowers growing in the yard.  

Eco-Tip:  Buy in bulk to avoid excess packaging of products whenever possible.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.